I want it shiny
Posted: Wed Mar 29, 2006 12:03 pm
A number of years ago I was in the process of restoring a 1942 GPW for Texas A&M . A vehicle of historical interest in that it had a depot rebuild tag on it from a U.S. Army depot in Germany. The jeep eventually became a review vehicle for the Corps of Cadets at Texas A&M and has carried both Presidents Bush at events at that university, where President Bush no. 1's library is located.
In any case during the restoration of the jeep for the university, I was visited one day by an old retired Army master sergeant, who was a motor pool sergeant. He watched as I was painting each part # 319 lusterless paint before re-assembly of the jeep. He then related to me the following story.
They were in North Africa when the commanding general of their brigade received a new Willys jeep. The jeep was brought to the motor pool to be fitted for the one star recognition plate and a special request. The brigade commander did not like the dull lusterless paint job and wanted his new jeep shiny. It was then the wise old motor pool sergeant reached into the debths of his memory and came up with the solution. The paint job had to be buffed to a point that it became shiny but that would take too many hours.
He went to the mess hall and got a 50 pound bag of flour and using it as a buffing agent along with the elbow grease of a couple of privates, they began the transformation from dull to shiny for the general. He said the next day he drove the shiny jeep to brigade headquarters and presented it to a very happy general.
A combination of knowhow, mess hall products and the muscle of some war weary American soldiers , and the general became the proud owner of a shiny jeep, in a world of dull olive drab.
In any case during the restoration of the jeep for the university, I was visited one day by an old retired Army master sergeant, who was a motor pool sergeant. He watched as I was painting each part # 319 lusterless paint before re-assembly of the jeep. He then related to me the following story.
They were in North Africa when the commanding general of their brigade received a new Willys jeep. The jeep was brought to the motor pool to be fitted for the one star recognition plate and a special request. The brigade commander did not like the dull lusterless paint job and wanted his new jeep shiny. It was then the wise old motor pool sergeant reached into the debths of his memory and came up with the solution. The paint job had to be buffed to a point that it became shiny but that would take too many hours.
He went to the mess hall and got a 50 pound bag of flour and using it as a buffing agent along with the elbow grease of a couple of privates, they began the transformation from dull to shiny for the general. He said the next day he drove the shiny jeep to brigade headquarters and presented it to a very happy general.
A combination of knowhow, mess hall products and the muscle of some war weary American soldiers , and the general became the proud owner of a shiny jeep, in a world of dull olive drab.